Tryon warned that separate colonial squadrons could be defeated one by one. Collective compensation for local losses would make it politically possible to concentrate ships where they were most useful, giving the colonies strength that none could afford alone. His starting proposal called for six 1,800-ton Archer-class cruisers armed with six-inch guns, capable of sixteen knots, and priced at about £105,000 each. Eight 150-ton torpedo boats were estimated at about £53,000 apiece. The flotilla was meant as a starting force that could expand. French construction of nineteen-knot cruisers then strengthened the case for something larger and faster. William Henry White was asked to design five roughly 2,500-ton cruisers capable of matching that speed for the Australia Squadron.
Chapter · 30:56-33:08
Concentration, compensation, and a squadron built to grow
Tryon's plan combined shared compensation with concentrated force, then treated an initial cruiser-and-torpedo-boat flotilla as the foundation for a faster and more capable Australian squadron.